[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> good afternoon, everyone. i am sarah caldwell. president obama and lawmakers return to washington day with just five days left to avert the fiscal cliff. all eyes will be on the senate after house republicans said it is up to senate leadership to reach a deal. daniel lee reports on the scramble to come together fast.

>> president obama landing in washington late this morning. the senator replacing senator daniel in a way -- daniel in no way rode with him on air force one. >> i do not see how you can have a grand bargain involving tax reform entitlement changes in a matter of days. >> even starbucks is getting involved, right in "come together" on its cups. speaker john boehner is sitting the route out after failing to get house republicans to support his own plan. >> i think john boehner is being controlled, unfortunately, by the right wing. >> that leaves it up to majority leader harry ring in the red -- harry reid in the rest of the senate to find a solution. harry reid's plan will avoid tax creases for -- tax increases for

people making too large and $50,000. >> you will see a two-step process here, one with the media dynamic so you can set up a situation where you can deal with a larger situation. >> without a deal, bush-era tax cuts will expire january 1 and spending cuts will set in. counters -- congress has set a deadline but so far that has backfired. now there is a new warning from the treasury secretary that this country is about to hit its debt limit and needs to act fast. in washington, danielle leigh, nbc news. >> as we head to the new year, a number of new laws are set to effect here in maryland. one allowing gay couples to marry as of january 1. another new law states baltimore city elections will be held on the same cycle as the presidential election, meaning officials will get an extra year in office. as of january 1, a parent or guardian will have the right to free credit reports to protect

kids and disabled adults from identity theft. it is hoped it will protect foster children, who are especially vulnerable. >> we are hoping that the credit bureau to the part of human resources will be able to get to some data sharing so they can either freeze them en masse as well as help them to access to their credit reports. >> when it comes to the weather, we are in the clear from rain or snow for now, that was not the case further north of us in new jersey. several communities woke up this know this morning after several inches fell last night. some areas were expecting up to 8 inches with wind gusts up as high as 60 miles an hour overnight. all that snow, rain, and sleet cause problems for travelers up and down the east coast. travelers at laguardia airport say they saw flight delays up to 90 minutes yesterday. in philadelphia, more than 200

flights were canceled, some flights with seven-hour delays. officials say 1500 flights were canceled in the u.s. bwi thurgood marshall airport was no exception to the travel mess yesterday. on average, 1-to our travel delays. the weather here improved. traveled nationwide did not 31 family spent the holiday on the other side of the country, with an unplanned night in baltimore. >> we decided to spend christmas in las vegas, and today the odds were not with us. we are happy to be on the ground, so it was kind of rough up there. we are grateful to be here. >> for others in and around maryland who were not flying, the snow was a chance for many to stock up on winter supplies they had not gotten around to yet. you can track storms from anywhere with our iphone and enjoyed app.

you can always get the updated forecasts every day at wbal tv.com. click on "weather." now the latest on conditions. >> it looks like all that rain and snow has quickly moved out of the area, but it is still impacting travel across the northeast. heavy snow in upstate new york all the way to maine with rain on the coast. we are seeing the strong wind on the backside of this, preventing temperatures from moving much. in the upper 30's, 39 at bwi- marshall, chilly in westminster, currently 34 degrees. the wind gusts coming out of the northwest, sustained winds getting close to 25 to 30 miles per hour across the region. chilly with the strong wind. another snow on the way. >> a police officer remains on

routine administrative leave after a deadly shooting in carroll county. authorities said a taneytown police officer shot and killed 26-year-old edward becker following a confrontation with investigators. police were called to, st. brigid were called to commerce street after -- police were called to commerce street. >> once he got to within arm's length of one of the officers and raised the hammer, the officer discharged a round from his service weapon, striking the deceased in the upper torso. >> becker later died at the hospital per the officer will remain on leave pending an investigation. city police are looking for information into an east baltimore shooting. officers found a man suffering a gunshot wound to the stomach. crews took into the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

so far investigators have no suspects. coming up on "11 news at noon," a brawl causes some stores to lock down. plus the latest on the condition of former president george h. w. bush.

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>> a fight at a mall in sacramento's and shoppers running yesterday after the director of mall security says 20 people were involved in the brawl. some customers say they heard loud sounds like gunshots, but officials said they found no sound -- no evidence of shooting. some stores went into lockdown, but the mall reopened a few hours later residents of western new york are remembering a pair of firefighters killed in a christmas eve ambush. dozens gathered wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil. 67-year-old william spengler jr. said his house on fire, then opened fire on responding firefighters. two are wounded and recovering. according to a spokesman for the 41st president, george h. w. bush has been in the hospital for more than a month with

bronchitis buzz with admitted -- but was admitted to i see you after a fever. this is in guarded condition is and his doctors are optimistic. still to come, find out if there's any benefit to eating smaller, more frequent meals, in medical alert. >> a wind advisory still in effect across the majority of the state. looks like another snow potential on the way. clouds in place, 42 degrees downtown 339 at the airport. wind gusts up to 39.

>> in our consumer alert, if you had a flight during the holiday season, there is a chance you got stuck in a long security checkpoint line 3 the tsa has launched a pilot program that lets travelers move to the plane without having to remove their shoes or take liquids out of their carry-on luggage. it is called managed inclusion. although you may not have to move any items, travelers must first get past bomb sniffing dogs and an aging trained to detect suspicious behavior. pizza hut is offering people disappointed with their christmas gifts a chance to receive a company gift card to ease the pain of a less-than- perfect president through a gift exchange. people -- pizza hut will give the gift card for $10 off any pizza.

in medical alert, if you're feeling full from all the heavy holiday food, here are healthy fightingxperts say add cancer foods to your diet. mangoes are a sweet treat. one can kill the body of harmful molecules that can trigger forms of cancer and heart disease. manga those can be incorporated into salads and champagne, which is perfect for new year's eve. walnuts are linked to a lower risk for kidney and colon cancers, containing several good fats that can improve blood pressure and your immune system. and pomegranates can lower the risk for prostate cancer. pomegranate juice might lower the risk for prostate cancer cells. we all tend to indulge a little over the holidays, but letting that weight creep up and heard more than just your self image.

20% of all cancers are caused by obesity. we spoke with a cancer specialist to see if there is benefit to eating smaller, more frequent meals. kay quinn reports. >> an interesting question. what should we do, right? >> one that scientists have tried to enter. >> a lot of studies in children and adults, the pattern of cheating in particular, weight gain. clearly eating more meals tends to result in more caloric intake. >> which does not lower cancer risk, since we gain can increase your chances of developing it. what about the same lot of calories, but spreading about into smaller portions throughout the day? >> that in all likelihood will not impact much. >> you might be doing your

health a favor if you cut your calories. >> 20% of cancer deaths are caused by adult weight gain, obesity, and over a lifetime avoiding the weight gain will absolutely transplant -- translate into lower cancer risk. >> now your 11 insta-weather plus forecast with meteorologist avery. >> it is nice to see much improvement across the roads compared to yesterday. the winter storms still tracking to the northeast, causing problems for holiday travelers, with delays at newark and laguardia. b i c mix to the west, and continuing to fall across upstate new york and into maine, causing trouble at the latest into the evening hours. the wind on the backside of the storm has caused some worry. we have not changed from the

morning hours. we were at 37 and bwi marshall. look where we are now, 39 degrees. strong winds from the northwest has prevented temperatures from rising at all. 42 in annapolis, 37 in gaithersburg and frederick. still in the middle 30's in westminster. the problem with the wind, it makes it feel colder. wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour close to the airport, 24 miles per hour in ocean city. the sustained wind has been anywhere from 20 to 30 miles per hour across the majority of the state. the wind is still whipping around the trees and the power lines. as you are traveling across the area, we're seeing concerns with that as the wind could push the cars around a little bit. hold tight to the steering wheel. temperatures today in the upper 30's to low 40's. the wet roads are drying off, now just variable clouds as the

wind continues to increase. wind on the backside of the storm, and as this one clears out, another one looms into the weekend. by saturday, a low pressure center from the south will interact with cold air, so this could be another snow event for the region. for maryland, maybe even further south into the state. saturday morning, beginning as snow and ice to the north, and i see mix to the south. as we go to saturday afternoon, the cold air sinks to the south. maybe the ice starts to makes its way into the southern hore.and, eastern so for these areas that will be their first snow if they get any. some accumulation across central maryland. a few places to get a couple of inches. but the northern areas always get the most. even if you are in the southern part of maryland, keep in mind icy conditions on saturday. 40 degrees, partly sunny skies.

not as cold tomorrow. in the 30's on saturday with the new storm coming in by sunday. we clear out then. keep an eye on another potential for a mix on new year's day pair that is a very slight possibility. do not cancel your new year's plans just yet. dr. tim hammonds is here to enter your pet questions. >> rigby, this is a great dog. this guy attracts everybody and everything. >> if people got a pet as a present, a dog or a cat? >> first of all, happy holidays to my beautiful daughters. a lot of people got pets for the holidays. where can you find the best for your pet? go online and search spay and neuter. there are lots of ways to bend

the proper amount of money. you do not always want to get the least expensive, but you want the best care. online, that is the first place i would go. >> several questions on here. we will start with this winter what can i do for a dog with dry skin. she is always biting and chewing her skin. >> it is tricky. you have to figure out what the cause is, and sometimes that is tricky. sometimes it is an apology, sometimes it is simply changing food or putting moisturizers on the dog. sometimes it is mites. you put it on a piece of black paper, you can see the little white might -- quite mites crawling away. >> one minute she is the cat going crazy, the next minute she goes away. >> if you think it might be something medical, call your

veterinarian. otherwise, just enjoy it. those kinds of behaviors leave as they grow old. >> ok, last one. we have a three-year-old should sue your terrier -- she vomits yellow foam courage to begin an acid reducer? >> she may have a caller that is too tight? does she have a tracheal problem? i would check it out. those dogs come sometimes develop complications. it could possibly be heart disease. some dogs have that. >> nice to see you. happy holidays to you. e-mail your question if you have one petquestions@

wbaltv.com. coming up next, your maryland lottery midday pick 3 and pick 4 numbers. we will check the insta-weather plus forecast. the first, and look at how wall street is performing this hour.

>> coming up tonight on "11 news at 5:00," bge crews are hunkering down for what could be another one-2 punch this weekend for baltimore weather. it looks like -- a major retailer is opening up and howard county at columbia crossings. you can buy high-quality clothing at a discount price. those stories and more on "11 news at 5:00." now your maryland lottery pick 3 and pick 4 numbers. >> good afternoon, maryland. here is the big -- the midday pick 3 numbers for thursday, december 27. we kick it off with a three. that is an 8. and 3 per that nature picked three numbers 383. play keno now through december 31 to double or triple your

winnings. drawing official bob diamond has your pick 4 numbers. that is a one. six. nine. finally, zero. the pick 4 game 1690. >> when is the next round living in? >> we are watching saturday. that looks to be the next snow potential here. that could go further south, parts of southern maryland, the eastern shore, southern delaware. we will definitely keep an eye on what kind of accumulation we expect. gusty wind today. tomorrow, 40 for the high. and then the snow potential. >> thank you for watching "11 news at noon." >> be sure to watch tonight at 5:00. have a great day.